Hydraulic transit apparatus



(No Model.)

J. E. ROBINSON. HYDRAULIC) TRANSIT APPARATUS.

No. 893,584. Patented Nov. 27, 1888.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN E. ROBINSON, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

HYDRAULIC TRANSIT APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 393,584, dated November27, 1888.

(No model.)

To @ZZ wir/0721. it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN E. ROBINSON, of Philadelphia, in the State ofPennsylvania, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Meansfor Transporting Milk, Berries, or other Bodies, of which the followingis a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

My invention is designed especially for the transportation ol" milk orother perishable articles; and it consists in a conduit or pipe leadingfrom the point of loading to the point of discharge, through whichconduit or pipe water is passed as a conveying medium.

In carrying out my invention I cause the specific gravity of thereceptacle containing the article to be transported to be made, with itscontents, as nearly equal to that of the water or conveying medium as ispracticable, in order that the said receptacle and its contents shalltravel within the pipe or conduit with the water practically out ofcontact with the pipe, and consequently to an almost entire extentwithout friction, as hereinafterspecied. The pipe or conduit at statedpoints in its length is provided with loading and discharge stations, atwhich the matter to be transported is inserted, in order to be carriedby the main pipe or conduit or discharged at the proper points. At cachof the said loading and discharge stations the main pipe is broken orinterrupted and provided with movable sections, connected thereto bytlexiblejointaand at each station are two independent lengths of pipe,to or from which the movable sections connected with the main conduitcan be attached or detached by asuitable lever-and-link mechanism orother devices, as may be preferred.

Other features of the invention will be pointed out in the description,as follows:

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a sectional plan showing myinvention. Fig. 2 is an enlarged section showing the receptacle andcarrier in a section of the pipe. Fig. 3 is a detail hereinafterspecified.

Similar letters of reference indicate similar parts in the respectivegures.

A represents a main pipe or conduit,which extends from a distant pointof receiving to the oint of discharge. Preferably this pipe or con- A2,as may be desired.

duit would lie contiguous to a railroad-track, and might be under thecontrol and managementof the railroad company or otherwise. At intervalsin the length ol" the main pipe or conduit A several loading anddischarge stations are provided, one of which is shown in Fig. l. Ateach of said stations the main pipe A is provided with movable sectionsB B, connected thereto by exible joints a, allowing the sections B B tobe moved on said -joints, as indicated by the dotted lines iu Fig. l.Two independent lengths of pipe, A A2, are arranged contiguous to eachother and between the movable sections B B, the arrangement being suchthat the said sections B B can be made to connect with either pipe AThen the movable sections B B are connected with either of the pipes Aor A2, said pipe becomes a part of the main pipe or conduit A.

It will be seen that the pipes A Azare provided at each end with acurved face, l), a front View of which is shown in Fig. 3. To eachmovable section B B is connected alink, c, which is attached to a lever,d, moving on a shaft, c, by which arrangement the said pipes B 2 can bcmoved from the pipe A to the pipe A27 or vice versa, as may be readilyunderstood. The movable sections B B may, however, be made to beindependently operated.

The receptacle and carrier used for transportation consists of acylindrical can, C, having an opening,f, covered by a lid,fsaid lidbeing preferably screwed to the can C. The can may be provided with ahandle, f1. At each end of the can Cisa hollow metallic ball, D, havingsufficient interior cubical capacity to give it the necessary buoyancyor dotation. The intention is to use balls D, of sufficient buoyancy togive to the whole, including the receptacle C and its contents, thespecific gravity of the water which is the conveyingmedium. The balls Dare connected by light steel frames or straps y', which also serve tosurround and inclose the can C, thus holding the whole together. Theframes or straps g are at two points in their lengths given an outwardbend, as shown at g, so as to cause them to loosely or neatly fit withinthe pipes, whereby the carrier is accurately guided IOO within the saidpipes. The object, however, is to cause the carrier to be moved alongwith the water without any appreciable contact with the pipe, wherebythe friction is reduced to the minimum.

The water is supplied to the pipes by forcepumps, or any other weltknownmeans, arranged at the extreme shipping end of the line. A natural headof water might be used, however, if practicable.

The operation is as follows: Supposing the water to be constantlyrunning in the directionof the arrows and the several parts to be asshown in Fig. 1, and it is desired to load or ship several cans at thestation shown, the cans C are tirst connected with the balls D andframes g' and placed within the pipe A2, the ends of which are submergedwithin boxes E, contai ning water. Theseveral cans having been placedwithin the pipe A2, the movable sections B B' are by means of the leversdmoved to the position shown in dotted lines, whereupon the pipe Abecomes a part Of the main line A, and thercans are consequently carriedonward bythe stream. The pipe A', now being detached from the main line,may be used for the loadinglpipe.

At a convenient distance from each station a bell, h, is applied to themain pipe A, and a slot is cut in the pipe for the purpose of allowingthe stem h' of the hammer to pass through, the stem being bent, asshown, and the bent end secured to the inner side of the pipe. Suitablepacking surrounds the stein in the slot to prevent the escape Of thewater. As the carrier passes along, the band 9"', which surrounds oneend Of the carrier-frame, will come in contact with the stem h' andsound the gong, thus notifying the attendant that a car rier isapproaching from some other station.

A bell or bells may be arranged at or near the terminal to indicate thenumber of arriving cans.

Only one station is shown in the drawings; but it will be understoodthat as many are used as may be necessary. The terminal or delivery endor the pipe A will preferably extend to a railroad or other stationwithin the city tO be supplied with the article transported, and bycontinuing the conduit and its stations milk or other articles may bedistributed to various parts of the city. At the terminal end the pipe Aextends into a reservoir, into which the cans would be discharged, andin which they would float, whence they would be removed by suitablemeans.

It is apparent that each station represented in Fig. 1 may be also usedas a discharge-station by removing the movable section B' from the mainline, whereupon the carriers would be discharged from the main line tothe box E, at which said section is located.

The water may be used along the line or at a terminal for any purpose,or may be discharged into the ordinary sewers. .c

Having described my invention, I claiml. The main pipe A, having movablesections B B', combined with independent intermediate sections, A' A2,substantially as set forth.

2. The pipe A, having movable sections B B', and devices, as described,for shifting said movable sections, combined with the intermediatepipes, A' A2, substantially as set forth.

3. The receptacle or can C, combined with the floats D, substantially asset forth.

4. rIhe receptacle or can C and floats D, combined with frames or strapsg', substantially as set forth.

5. The receptacle Or can C, combined with the detachable frame-workconsisting ot' the floats D and frames or straps g', substantially asset forth. y

6. The pipes A' A2, having the curved faces b, combined with the pipeKA,having the movable sections .B B', substantially as set forth.

7. The pipe A, provided with a slot, and a gong mounted on said Ypipe inclose proximity to said slot, combined with a hammer secured to theinner side of the pipe, and extending through the said slot and adaptedtO be Operated by a passing carrier to sound the gong, substantially asspecified.

8. The combination of the pipe A, having the movable sections B B', withthe pipes A A2 and water-boxes E, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereofI have hereunto set my hand and seal.V

JOHN n. ROBINSON. [n s] Witnesses: Y

E. L. WHITE, GEO. F. FLINT.

